SalesHQ

Hi QueenLT,

I fell into it really.  I loved working in shops and bars while I was studying at college and university and thought I'd make a good salesperson.  I originally applied to a sales job in the national paper selling IT & Telecoms solutions and from there moved into advertising sales.

I've actually just put together an online guide to a career in media sales here - Media Sales Jobs - which has information on interviewing and presenting etc that's relevant for other industries too.

I think the educational background you need varies from industry to industry.  I know that some sectors prefer a degree in a related field (for example a science degree if you're selling to chemists for example...) but I'd say in general you just need good communication skills, a willingness to learn and plenty of resilience!

You must have been really bored! LOL. Nice to see you bakc in your normal form Lori.

Truth be told. I was forced into sales.My father had a plumbing supply  and at age 14 he brought me to work to work. It was to keep me from driving my mother nuts and keep me out of trouble.

 However I was able to observe two really great sales professionals and learned a lot from those two. One of them was my father and the other was a guy named Larry Beck.They were amazing .By the time I was 18 I started working inside sales.1976 he changed the store to retail/ wholesale and I had  my first experience working with the public and selling retail.

Watching my father and Larry Beck gave me my first taste how important building relationships are and how fra they can take the sales professional. I was able to watch these two great sales professionals sell a higher priced product to contractors who could buy it cheaper from a wholesaler than from us. I then could watch them work their magic with the public discovering their reasons for buying certain products.This is where I discovered quite a few purchase with the idea of keeping up with the Jone's. Mr and Mrs. Jones purchased Kohler products and they wanted to have the kohler products in their home.Asking questions is key to discovering this buying motive.It is a buying motive more times then what a sales professional will admit. Referral selling is part of keeping up with the Jone's. Mr jones uses you and highly recommends you to his friends,neighbors etc and they want to use you due to their friend using you.

 Anyhow I really liked sales at that time and did not know I would eventually  fall in love with this profession and do it for my entire life to date.

  How about you?